Matsudaira Sadanobu

A feudal lord in the late Edo period. A senior councilor who carried out the Kansei Reforms. Born in Edo on December 27, 8th year of the Horeki era. The seventh son of Tayasu Munetake and the grandson of the 8th Shogun, Yoshimune. His childhood name was Masamaru, and after retirement he called himself Rakuo. In 1774 (3rd year of the An'ei era), he was adopted by Matsudaira Sadakuni, lord of the Shirakawa domain in Oshu, and the following year he was appointed Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Kazusa no Suke. In 1783 (3rd year of the Tenmei era), he succeeded his adoptive father Sadakuni as lord of the Shirakawa domain with 110,000 koku of rice, and was promoted to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Ecchu no Kami. At the time, the Tenmei famine hit, and the poverty of the samurai and commoners in the Shirakawa domain reached its peak. However, Sadanobu himself took the lead in emphasizing frugality, and through such measures as emergency food shipments, famine savings, population growth, and encouraging industrial development, he worked to restore the domain's finances and stabilize the lives of its people, successfully overcoming this difficult situation. Eventually, his domain administration gained fame among the other daimyo, and in June 1787, after the fall of senior councilor Tanuma Okitsugu, he was recommended by the Gosanke and Hitotsubashi Harusada to become the chief senior councilor, appointed as a chamberlain, and began the so-called Kansei Reforms. In March of the following year, he was given the important role of assistant to the shogun. He appointed fellow fudai daimyo such as Matsudaira Nobuakira, Honda Tadakazu, Toda Ujinori, Matsudaira Norisada, and Ota Sukeyoshi to the core of the shogunate government, and worked with them to revitalize the shogunate. The policy of fiscal austerity, the order to abandon donations from the stockbrokers, the order to encourage farmers to return to their hometowns, the 70% savings order, the order to establish labor camps, the order to control publications, the order to correct public morals, the order to lower prices, the ban on alternative education, and the Edo Bay defense plan are all important policies of the Kansei Reforms that Sadanobu carried out. To rebuild the shogunate's finances, the policy was based on an agrarianism, but there were also many notable policies in urban policies and thought control. In July 1793 (Kansei 5), he resigned from his position as senior councilor and assistant to the shogun, but was promoted to Sakonoe Gon no Shosho (Sako no Egon no Shosho) and his family rank to Tamari no Mazume (Tamari no Mazume), and he once again took an active role in the administration of the Shirakawa domain. The reasons for his resignation are said to be related to the Imperial Titles Incident, in which Emperor Kokaku tried to bestow the title of Daijo Emperor on his father, Prince Sukehito, but was opposed by Sadanobu, and the Taigosho Incident, in which Shogun Ienari tried to appoint his father, Hitotsubashi Harumori, to the position of Taigosho, but was opposed by Sadanobu. However, as a background to this, we must also consider the criticism of his extreme austerity policies by the common people, as seen in the poems of the time such as "Because he was too frugal, he retired unexpectedly and at an unexpected time" and "The fish could not live in the clear waters of Shirakawa, and I love Tanuma, which is once again cloudy." As the lord of Shirakawa Domain, he expanded the domain school Rikkyokan and in 1810 (Bunka 7) received orders from the shogunate to defend Edo Bay together with the Aizu Domain, building batteries on the Boso coast. In 1812, he handed over his fief to his eldest son Sadanaga, and in his later years he lived an elegant life in the Yokuonen lower residence in Tsukiji, Edo. He died on May 13, 1822, at the age of 72. He was buried at Reiganji Temple in Fukagawa, Edo, and later a portion of his ashes was sent to Shogenji Temple in Kuwana, Ise (Mie Prefecture).

Influenced by his father, Tadayasu Munetake, a famous poet and scholar of Japanese classics, Sadanobu studied under Otsuka Takasue from an early age and devoted himself to his studies. At the age of 12, he wrote "Jikyou Kagami," a book outlining his beliefs, and in his lifetime he left behind nearly 200 works. Before his retirement as a senior councilor, many of his writings were about politics, such as "Kokuhonron" and "Bukkaron," but after his retirement, many of his writings were about literature, such as "Kagetsu Soshi" and "Rakutei Hitsugi." His poetry collection "Sangoshu" is particularly famous. Other famous works include "Shuko Jyushu" and "Koga Zuko," which were compiled from collections of old calligraphy, paintings, and antique objects, as well as his autobiographies "Uge no Hitokoto" and "Shugyo Roku." He also devoted himself to martial arts, and in particular the "Way of Jinbu" taught to him by his Kito-ryu Jujitsu teacher Suzuki Kunitaka had a profound impact on his worldview.

[Makoto Takeuchi]

"Ugejingo: Shugyo-roku" edited by Matsudaira Sadamitsu (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Rakuo-koden" by Shibusawa Eiichi (1937/reprint edition, 1983, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Kansei Reforms" by Takeuchi Makoto (included in "Third Iwanami Lecture Series: Japanese History 12", 1976, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の大名。寛政(かんせい)の改革を断行した老中。宝暦(ほうれき)8年12月27日江戸で生まれる。田安宗武(たやすむねたけ)の七男で、8代将軍吉宗(よしむね)の孫にあたる。幼名は賢丸(まさまる)、隠居後は楽翁と号した。1774年（安永3）奥州白河藩主松平定邦(さだくに)の養子となり、翌年従(じゅ)五位下上総介(かずさのすけ)に叙任。1783年（天明3）養父定邦の後を継いで白河11万石の藩主となり、従四位下越中守(えっちゅうのかみ)に昇進した。おりしも天明(てんめい)の大飢饉(ききん)に際会、白河領内の士庶の困窮もその極に達したが、定信自ら率先して倹約を重んじ、食糧の緊急輸送、備荒貯蓄や人口の増加、あるいは殖産興業を促すなど、藩財政の立て直しや領民生活の安定化を図り、みごとにこの難局を切り抜けた。やがて彼の藩政は、諸大名の間にその名声を高め、老中田沼意次(おきつぐ)失脚ののちの1787年6月、御三家(ごさんけ)および一橋治済(ひとつばしはるさだ)の推挙により老中首座（筆頭）となり、侍従に任じ、いわゆる寛政の改革に着手。翌年3月には将軍補佐の大役をも与えられた。松平信明(のぶあきら)、本多忠籌(ただかず)、戸田氏教(うじのり)、松平乗完(のりさだ)、太田資愛(すけよし)ら同志の譜代(ふだい)大名を幕閣の中枢に登用し、彼らと合議しつつ幕政の振起に努めた。財政の緊縮政策をはじめ、札差棄捐令(きえんれい)、旧里帰農奨励令、七分積金令、人足寄場(にんそくよせば)設置令、出版統制令、風俗匡正(きょうせい)令、物価引下令、異学の禁、江戸湾防備計画等々は、いずれも定信が断行した寛政の改革の有数の政策である。幕府財政再建のために農本主義を基調としているが、都市政策や思想統制にもみるべきものが多い。1793年（寛政5）7月老中ならびに将軍補佐役を辞職したが、左近衛権少将(さこのえごんのしょうしょう)に昇任、家格も溜間詰(たまりのまづめ)に昇格、ふたたび白河藩政に意を用いることとなった。彼の辞職の理由は、光格(こうかく)天皇が実父典仁(すけひと)親王に太上(だいじょう)天皇の称号を贈ろうとして定信に反対された尊号一件、および将軍家斉(いえなり)が実父一橋治済を大御所に迎えようとして定信に反対された大御所一件などが絡んでいるといわれる。しかし、その背景として、「それみたか、余り倹約なすゆえに、おもいがけなき、不時の退役」「白河の、清きに魚もすみかねて、元のにごりの、田沼こいしき」などの当時の落首にもみられるように、彼の極度の緊縮政策に対する士庶の批判も考えねばならない。こののち白河藩主として、藩校立教館の拡充や、1810年（文化7）には会津藩とともに江戸湾防備の幕命を受け、房総沿岸に台場を築造したりしたが、1812年嫡子定永(さだなが)に封地を譲り、晩年は江戸築地(つきじ)の下屋敷浴恩園に住んで風雅な生活を送った。文政(ぶんせい)12年5月13日没。72歳。江戸深川の霊岸寺に葬り、のち伊勢(いせ)（三重県）桑名の照源寺に分骨した。

　定信は、歌人・国学者として著名な父田安宗武の影響もあって、幼少より大塚孝綽(たかすえ)に師事して学問に励み、12歳のとき自分の信条を記した『自教鑑(じきょうかがみ)』を著したのをはじめ、一生のうちに200部近くもの著作を残した。著述の内容は、老中退職以前は『国本論』『物価論』など政治関係のものが多く、退職後は『花月草紙』『楽亭筆記』など文芸に関するものが多い。とくに歌集『三草集』は有名である。このほか古書画、古器物を収集して編纂(へんさん)した『集古十種』『古画図考』や、自叙伝の『宇下人言(うげのひとこと)』『修行録』も有名である。また武芸にも励み、とくに起倒流柔術の師鈴木邦教(くにたか)から伝授された「神武(しんぶ)の道」は、彼の世界観に大きな影響を与えた。

［竹内　誠］

『松平定光校訂『宇下人言・修行録』（岩波文庫）』▽『渋沢栄一著『楽翁公伝』（1937／復刻版・1983・岩波書店）』▽『竹内誠著『寛政改革』（『第三期岩波講座　日本歴史12』所収・1976・岩波書店）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例